Keychained
by AirborneXZ
Summary: Sora, Hayner, Riku, Roxas and Tidus start a band. Will they become famous and will Sora realize who his true love was all along? AN: Chapter 4 is up the band start their first gig!
1. The beginning of the endof school

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any copyrighted material presented in this fanfiction.

Keychained

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End…of school

A boy was sleeping soundly in his bed, dreaming of his year so far as a sophomore in Destiny Islands Senior High School. He dreamt about the dances, he dreamt about his friends, and he was dreaming of that one beautiful gi-.

"WAKE UP!"

_SPLASH!_

"WHAT IN THE LIVING BLUE HELL?!" cried the boy.

"Come on, Sora it's time to get ready for school," said a brown haired lady.

"And this is how you wake me up?! I'm soaked to the freaking bone!"

"Yes well, you looked like you needed a little freshening up, seeing that you forgot to take a shower last night."

The boy named Sora grumbled at his mother, and she just rolled her eyes playfully, and walked out. Sora shifted in his bed only to hear sickening plops and other noises that indicated that his bed was indeed VERY WET. And he was sure he wasn't thinking that far into his sexual drive about that girl during his dream. Not to mention that he was also drenched, so it was obviously his mother with a bucket of water.

Sora slowly got out of his bed, his shirt and Joe Boxer pajama pants sticking to his skin. He rushed to his bathroom and quickly removed his clothes having it drop to the floor like a lead weight. He sighed in relief only to realize that yes even his boxer briefs were wet too. As he removed his underwear, Sora decided that since he was naked he might as well take a shower.

Sora stepped into his shower, and turned the water on, having the warm water, go all over his body. He got his shower gel, scrubbed himself clean and washed his hair. He then rinsed off, stepped out of the shower and dried off. He looked at himself in the mirror as he dried off his naturally spiky hair. He had lightly tanned skin, and a well built body. After all in his school, P.E. classes were mandatory so he got plenty of exercise.

Sora stepped out of his bathroom and got dressed in his school uniform which consisted of blue slacks, a white and blue plaid shirt and a blue tie with black shoes. Sora was just glad that it wasn't mandatory to tuck in your shirt at his high school; otherwise there would've been a lot of hatred towards that uniform.

"Sora! Come get your breakfast!"

Sora lifted his nose into the air and tried to guess what was going to be on his plate this morning. Despite his efforts, he was no bloodhound, and he went downstairs to see his mother place his plate on his usual spot on the left side of the dinner table. Sora sat down and grabbed the maple syrup. He turned the syrup bottle upside down and poured it out freely, drowning his pancakes in syrup.

"Reenacting this morning son?" asked his mother sarcastically.

Sora just grunted at his mother's remark making her laugh. His mother and father were always jokesters, which did make them pretty cool parents around your friends, but hey once you run out of come backs for your parents, they just slay you with their sarcastic remarks. Eventually Sora would get used to them, but right now he was just worried about finishing his breakfast and getting to school. Today was the beginning of the end of his sophomore year. It was the final week of school, and the battle of the bands would be during the end of the year dance, on the last day of school. It was basically the school's way of making sure everyone goes to school on their last day.

Sora finally finished his breakfast and so he put his plate in the sink, kissed his mother goodbye and grabbed his backpack walking out the door to walk to school. The sweltering June weather was living up to its name, as Sora was already starting to get sweaty. Just great. Thankfully, he lived relatively close to the school, so in just a few moments he would be graced by the marvel of air conditioning.

And there it was. Amazing grace. The grace of air conditioning. Sora felt the cold rush of air wrap around his body and instantly comforting him. He looked at his wristwatch and saw that he was pretty early. He still had twenty minutes before 1st period started. In Sora's school odd numbered days you would go to your 1st, 3rd, and 5th period and then on even numbered days you would go to your 2nd, 4th, and 6th period. He decided to get his math books from his locker, before school started and he walked over to it, only to be greeted by someone very special to him, after he closed his locker. It was his best friend Kairi Panettiere. He looked at her from head to toe. She was dressed in the female version of the school uniform, except instead of slacks she was wearing a skirt of the same color. Kairi had auburn hair, and the most beautiful amethyst eyes. And she had a very nice figure especially for a 16 year old. However, Sora didn't see her that way. Or at least he didn't think he did. After all he was far too occupied with his celebrity crush on Naminé Snow, a famous pop singer. Of course Sora was more into punk rock and the like but Naminé was just irresistible. With that wavy blonde hair, her beautiful voice, and most of all that hourglass figure that makes any man drop their jaw. Sora really didn't know why he insisted upon himself to keep this crush going. Perhaps he was driven by false hopes of having a chance with her.

"Um…Sora?"

Sora snapped out of his daydream frenzy and turned his attention to Kairi.

"Yes Kai?"

"I was wondering if you were competing in that Battle of the Bands the last day of school. You know you can play guitar very well."

"Yeah, well Kairi in case you haven't noticed, I don't have a band. And I'm not into songs that involve a single electric guitarist."

"Oh well that's too bad. I would've loved to hear you perform a song."

Sora thought for a moment. Why was Kairi so eager to hear him play guitar? Especially urging him to play it alone. Most single guitarist songs are love songs. Did Kairi have feelings for him? No way could that ever be. Still, every time Sora was around Kairi her eyes seemed to twinkle.

'Probably the fluorescent lighting in this hall…' Sora thought.

"Sora?"

"Err…what?"

"You were daydreaming again weren't you?"

"Yeah, sorry."

Kairi rolled her eyes and turned around. Almost instantly Sora felt guilty for letting his thoughts go wild and not paying attention to his best friend. Lately he had been doing that a lot so now was his time to make up for it.

"Hey Kairi!"

"What?"

"How about I bring my guitar and my amp after school and I'll play a song for you?"

"Really? You would do that for me, Sora?"

"Of course Kairi. You are my best friend after all."

"Oh thanks Sora," The bell then rang, "Oh! I'll see you at my house after school!"

Kairi then ran off to her 1st period class. It was a shame. This year Sora didn't have any classes with Kairi. He only saw her before and after school and during lunch. It was a shame really. Oh well. Sora began to daydream again.

'Naminé sure is cute…'

He had thoughts like that for the next 5 minutes not even moving from his spot by his locker. And then…

_RRRRRIIINNNNNGGGG!!!_

"What the-? AHH CRAP!" cursed Sora as he ran to his math class.

Sora walked out of math class with a detention for being late. This was just great. First day of the last week and he had a detention. Oh well. He only had to endure two more classes and it would all be over. His 3rd period, was P.E. with his cousin Roxas and other best friend Riku.

Roxas was sliding his shirt on as Sora walked in to the locker room.

"Hey Roxas!"

Roxas peeked his head out from the hole in the shirt. Roxas was very similar to Sora. They had very similar cerulean blue eyes, and gravity-defying hair. But Roxas's hair was blonde and had a different way of sticking up. Nevertheless, they looked extremely similar.

"Hey, Sora. You just missed Riku, he already went out to the field."

"Oh ok. I guess I'll get changed now."

"Yeah you better. You know how Coach Highwind is."

"Yep, how could I forget?"

Previously, Coach Highwind had given many extra laps around the track for being late, which he made you do AFTER the exercises everyone was supposed to do. This, in turn, made you lose a few precious minutes of lunch. And those few minutes were everything. Thankfully, Sora had changed just in time to-

_RRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGG!!_

Hear the bell ring…

'Great just great,' thought Sora.

As he trotted outside to the field, he saw Coach Highwind in all his blonde, 46-year old glory. He knew what was coming in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

"OSMENT! YOU ARE LATE AGAIN! AFTER EXERCISES YOU RUN 5 LAPS AROUND THE TRACK!"

"Yes Coach!" replied Sora.

"Alright ladies, I know you are all excited that the year is coming to a close. Soon, most of you will be juniors, and some will be seniors. I am very proud with the physical progress you have made. So, for today's exercise we will be having a relay race! Get into teams of 4!"

Sora immediately got with Roxas, Riku, and another friend named Tidus. Riku, a junior, had silver hair that went past his shoulders and aquamarine eyes that girls just melted in. In the past Riku had had many girlfriends. He practically dated every girl in the school that piqued his interest. He had gotten the reputation for being a man whore, but after a week of that, everyone had stopped when he threatened to break anyone's arm who called him that. Riku was usually very cool and collected but he can't stand lies or rumors. Riku also had a very good singing voice. He was able to manipulate it so that he could sing in all vocal ranges. It was amazing.

Sora looked over at his other friend Tidus. Tidus had blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. He was on the school's blitzball team, and is 1st on the list for expected team captains next year. He could also play the drums, like a professional.

Roxas started to hum and play notes on his air guitar. Actually, Roxas was a bassist; he liked keeping the steady beat in a song. It was freaky, at how so many of Sora's friends could play instruments, and yet none of them had their own band. Such a shame.

"Ok, now since Tidus is slowest, we will put him first to get him out of the way…" said Riku.

"HEY!" replied Tidus.

"Is for horses, now shut up." retorted Roxas.

"Both of you, shut up. Ok it will be Tidus first, then Roxas, then me, then Sora. Understand?"

The team nodded their heads and broke apart from the small huddle they had made. Tidus made his way to the starting line on the track and Roxas, Riku and Sora made a line, right next to Tidus and the race began. Tidus was a good runner, but he wasn't the best and soon fell behind some of the other kids. Roxas made his way to the starting line as Tidus slapped Roxas's hand. Roxas took off and began to catch up…That was until the student named Seifer tripped him.

"See you later punk!" yelled Seifer.

Roxas growled and got back on his feet. Seifer's dirty trick had motivated Roxas to run even faster than before, which was no easy feat. Regardless, Roxas had caught up with the bulk of the group and slapped Riku's hand making him take his turn around the track. Riku took his turn without any problems and now it was Sora's turn to run. Sora ran as fast as he could, his heart was racing with its breakneck speed, and his lungs were ready to collapse, but he was going to do it. He was going to win. He saw the student in the lead and tried to go faster, but his body just couldn't take it. He let his team down and he got second place.

"Hey don't worry about it Sora. I mean it's not like we were doing it for money or prizes." reassured Roxas in the cafeteria after Sora had done his extra 5 laps around the track.

"Yeah but it still sucks Roxas! I tried as best as I could and it still wasn't enough."

"Don't worry about it. After all, Seifer had tripped Roxas making us lose a lot of time. It wasn't because you were slow. You did your best and that is all that matters." said Riku.

"Yeah man, don't let it bother you." added Tidus.

"Thanks. You guys are the best. And If you'll excuse me I have to go meet Kairi." said Sora standing up.

"Ohhhh" said the other three boys in unison.

"What?" asked Sora.

"Sora has a date!" exclaimed Tidus.

"I do not!" retorted Sora.

"Sure…" Riku slurred sarcastically.

"Ugh whatever" said Sora as he left the cafeteria in search of Kairi.

Kairi was sitting on a bench in the school's butterfly garden. This place had become hers and Sora's special spot. It mostly belonged to couples or couples-to-be which is why Kairi liked it so much. She only told Sora that she liked the butterflies and flowers that were in the area, but she really liked it most because it showed hope of her getting together with Sora.

"Hey Kairi!"

Kairi looked up to see the familiar brunette walking towards her. She smiled and lowered the flower she had been holding.

"Hey Sora" she replied sweetly.

"Here I saw this in the vending machine. And it was the very last one, too!" explained Sora as he handed Kairi a pack of gummy bears.

"Aw! Sora! Thank you! You're so thoughtful!" squealed Kairi as she ripped open the small packet of gummy bears.

She and Sora just sat there for a while, both of them chewing on the ever-sweet gummy bears. Throughout their time together, Kairi would tease Sora by flashing him a red gummy bear and then keeping it out of his reach. She had done this at least three times already and she was down to her last gummy bear. Truth be told, it was a red one. Kairi giggled and smirked at Sora.

"What?" asked Sora as he looked Kairi in the eye.

"Look what I've got," she said as she held the last gummy bear in front of Sora's face.

"Give me!"

"Nope!"

"Come on Kairi! Not again!"

"Ha-ha!"

Sora and Kairi continued to struggle for the last gummy bear, until Sora reached out a little too far. Doing so he knocked over Kairi, making them both fall off the bench. Kairi opened her eyes to see Sora on top of her entire body. She blushed furiously as Sora regained his head and looked down at Kairi. His eyes widened and he blushed as well as he lifted his body with his arms. Kairi giggled at Sora's funny embarrassed face and fed him the last gummy bear, to which Sora turned even redder.

_RRRRRIIIIINNNNGGGG!!!_

The lunch bell rang and Sora stood up instantly, a blush still on his face. He rubbed the back of his neck as Kairi stood up.

"um…uh…err…ehh…" Sora stuttered.

"It's ok Sora, it was just an accident right?"

"Yeah an accident…"

"Ok I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later…"

"Don't forget your guitar and amplifier!" yelled Kairi as she ran off to her 5th period class.

"I won't!" yelled Sora back.

Sora walked into the band room. It was time for his favorite class of the day. Guitar. He was finally able to kick back and relax. The last week of guitar was for people who failed their guitar exams. Fortunately, both he and his guitar partner Hayner had passed the test of their first try with winning colors. The entire day, Sora just slept in class that was until Hayner interrupted his slumber.

"Hey Sora!"

"Hayner?" said Sora rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah! Hey, Riku, Roxas, Tidus and I are going over to my place to play video games and eat shit like we normally do. Want to come?"

"I don't know Hayner…"

"Come on I have Mario Party 8..."

"I'm in!"

"Awesome. Head there right after school."

The bell soon rang after and Sora headed to Hayner's house, it was a few blocks down from Sora's house so Sora took the time to drop off his backpack and books. From there he trotted to Hayner's house happily. Little did he know that Kairi was already home watching him trot down the sidewalk eagerly waiting for him to show up and play her a song.

'Sora…where the heck are you going?'

Sora walked into Hayner's house after knocking on the door, and being invited in by Hayner himself. Almost immediately everyone gathered around to play Mario Party 8 except for Riku, since he was more interested in the paintings on Hayner's wall. So far Sora was in the lead with 6 stars and 41 coins. Only one turn left. And…Sora had won the game!

"Yes! I won!" shouted Sora repeatedly.

While Sora was doing his victory dance, Hayner called a group meeting. All the friends blinked repeatedly wondering what Hayner wanted to discuss.

"Ok guys. You know how the battle of the bands is coming up right?"

"Yes," said the rest of the friends in unison.

"Ok well, I suggest that we start a new band!

"A band? Are you serious Hayner?" inquired Riku.

"Yes I'm serious! Come on guys why not? I mean Sora and I can play guitar, Roxas can play bass, Tidus knows drums and Riku can sing. Come on it's an all-star rocking band!"

"I don't know Hayner, battle of the bands is in four days…how can we be ready by then?" asked Tidus.

"Well we will just perform a song that we all already know. But, let's worry about that later. Right now we just need a name and positions for everyone."

"Ok well, I'll be the bassist, Tidus will be the drummer, Riku will be lead vocalist, and since got higher scores on the test and knows more songs than you Hayner, he will be lead guitarist and then you should be rhythm guitarist."

"Ok that's fine, I never liked being the grandstander anyway." replied Hayner to Roxas's suggestion.

"Now we just need a name…It needs to be cool, yet catchy…hmmm…" pondered Tidus.

"Destiny's Child?" asked Sora.

"NO WAY!" said the rest of the group.

"The Turned?" inquired Roxas.

"Nah," said the rest of the group.

"Throw Away the Key?" asked Tidus.

"Nope," replied the rest of the group.

"How about…Keychained?" asked Riku.

"Yeah! I like it!" replied Sora

The rest of the group nodded their heads in agreement. And from that day forward, the band Keychained was formed.


	2. Johnny B Goode

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any copyrighted material presented in this fanfiction

Keychained

Chapter 2: Johnny B. Goode

Sora was walking back from Hayner's house after their discussion about their new band, Keychained. It was a catchy name to Sora and he could already see their debut album now. However, as Sora walked down the dimly lit streets of Destiny Islands, he couldn't help but feel that he forgot to do something today. He was sure it wasn't his homework, because they never assigned homework on the last week of school. So what was he forgetting?

Sora shrugged as he continued to walk on the sidewalk until he reached his street. As he turned and saw his house over the horizon, he thought he had an inkling of what he was supposed to do but forgot, but unfortunately he lost that inkling as fast as it had arrived. He entered his house, greeting his mother and father, and headed up to his room until…

"Sora, would you mind explaining where you were?" asked Mrs. Osment.

"I was out," replied Sora.

"With that Kairi girl I presume?" said Mr. Osment.

"No, I was at Hayner's house."

"Oh, because Kairi called asking for you. She said you had told her you were coming over after school."

Sora pondered on the thought. Did he tell Kairi that he was coming over? He couldn't remember.

'Note to self: Take more vitamin E,' thought Sora.

Now why Sora even thought he could remember to take more vitamins when he couldn't even remember why Kairi said he was going to come over, escaped Sora's deeper level of thinking if such a thing exists in his brain.

Sora shrugged again and headed up to his room, where he could now bask in teenagerdom. He opened the door and looked upon his room. The walls were a dark blue, and inside he had his bed, desk, drawers, computer, posters of several bands, and of course his trusty Fender Stratocaster. He had had that guitar ever since he was seven years old and it had served him well. It was a Stratocaster with a rosewood fret board and sunburst finish. He had done many classes and tests with this guitar. He had never performed before even though he clearly could play at the performance level. Now why it had never occurred to him or his friends that they should start a better was beyond him, but Sora supposed it was because neither of them felt they were ready to play in a band. It didn't matter now, because they were ready. And they were going to win.

Sora looked out his window. There he had a clear view of Kairi's house. When they were smaller, they would use a laundry cable to pass notes to each other when they were bored. It was a lot more interesting than using the phone, and nowadays if they need to talk they just talk to each other from across the yard. Actually they hadn't done that very often recently. Sora had his music and Kairi had her academics to worry about. Guess they only talk during school. And that's when it hit him…

"KAIRI!" Sora had just remembered what he was supposed to go over to Kairi's house for! He was supposed to play her a song on his guitar!

"Oh great! I can't believe I forgot to go over to Kairi's! And it's already midnight how am I supposed to play her a song at this time?"

So, Sora didn't know what to do, so he did the obvious course of action. He knocked on her door with guitar and amp in hand. When it opened he expected to see a furious face ready to kill him. When he opened his eyes to see who opened the door. He sure saw Kairi, but she had this look on her face that made Sora become overwhelmed with guilt. Kairi had no emotion on her face…no anger no sadness and definitely no happiness. The only thing that Sora could read on Kairi's face was disappointment, sheer disappointment.

"What do you want, Sora?"

"I came to play you your song…"

"And you come to do this at…12:13 in the morning?"

"Um…yeah…"

"Sora, just forget it. You obviously found something more important than fulfilling your promise to me so just…"

"But, Kairi I'm sorry!"

"Just…go to bed Sora…"

And then Kairi closed the door leaving Sora on her front porch. It was obvious that he wasn't going to get into her house, and the feeling of guilt was so intense that Sora knew that he wasn't going to get any sleep that night until he fixed things. But, what could he do? How can he play a song for her if she won't let him inside her house so she can hear it?

"Wait…If I remember, one of Kairi's windows looks out towards her backyard…And I still have that battery-powered amplifier! I can play for her outside her window!"

So, Sora rushed inside to get his battery-powered amp completely unaware of the romantic sentiment that he was just about to perform. After grabbing his amplifier, he ran back to the front of Kairi's house, prepared to climb over the fence and unlock the fence gate so that he could get into the backyard. So he did just that. After a few seconds of climbing and falling clumsily on the hard ground after slipping, Sora opened the fence gate and carried his Fender Strat and amplifier to the backyard…right outside Kairi's window.

Kairi was lying on her bed while all this was going on. She was far too engrossed in her own thoughts to notice someone climbing over her fence, proclaiming the expression "Ouch!" and tuning an amplifier. She was thinking about Sora.

'Maybe he just forgot…Sora never did have a good memory…but I called…TWICE! I guess he just doesn't care about me…Maybe I should just date Seifer. He seems a lot more considerate than Sora…' thought Kairi.

Suddenly, there was a tapping on Kairi's back window. Kairi snapped out of her thoughts and sat up on her bed. The tapping didn't happen for a while, so Kairi just dismissed it as her hearing things…that was until she heard it again. Kairi was starting to get annoyed at the tapping on her window. It was like someone was…

_Tap! Tap! Tap!_

Throwing pebbles at her window. Kairi opened her window and looked around. Soon, her eyes drifted to her backyard. And there he was in the dim moonlight, guitar in hand, ready to play to her while she watched from her window. Sora Joel Osment was going to play her a song like he promised.

"I'm really sorry Kairi! I totally forgot about what I had to do! I hope that you forgive me and I don't know if you will like this song but here goes!"

Kairi smiled and she began to daydream and blush madly. Maybe this was Sora's proclamation of love! Maybe he finally found out from all the hints Kairi was starting to give! Maybe just maybe…they would be boyfriend and girlfriend. And those thoughts continued until she was interrupted by the sound of the guitar playing. She knew that tune anywhere…that song was none other than…

"_**Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans  
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens  
There stood an old cabin made of earth and wood  
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B Goode  
Who never ever learned to read or write so well  
But he could play a guitar just like a ringin' a bell  
Go go go Johnny go go go Johnny go go  
Go Johnny go go go Johnny go go Johnny B Goode**_

Sora was playing Johnny B. Goode. Sure it wasn't the most romantic song in the world, but Kairi smiled at Sora nonetheless. It was sweet how he had gone out of his way to make sure he played a song for her on his guitar. Kairi just kept smiling and listened to Sora play, tapping her foot to his beat.

**_He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack  
He sit beneath the tree by the railroad track  
The engineer would see him sittin' in the shade  
Strummin' with the rhythm that the drivers made  
The people passin' by they would stop and say  
Oh my how that little country boy can play  
Go go go Johnny go go..._**

His mother told him someday you gonna be a man  
And you will be the leader of a big old band  
Many people comen from miles around  
To hear you play your music when the sun goes down  
Maybe someday your name will be in lights sayin' Johnny B Goode tonight  
Go go go Johnny go go..." 

_CRASH!_

Right before Sora could finish the final chorus Kairi heard a crash and Sora had fallen on the floor. She opened her eyes wide to see what had happened. It looks like there was a shattered flower pot next to his body. Kairi looked up to see a disgruntled old neighbor shaking his fist and closing the window after yelling.

"I warned you about playing your damn music too loud at this hour boy!"

Kairi, rushed out to her backyard now realizing that Sora had been knocked out with a flower pot thrown to the head. She came out and slid down next to Sora's unconscious body. His head wasn't too badly injured, but he had been knocked out anyway. Kairi searched Sora's body for his house keys only to find that he didn't have them on his person. Just wonderful. This meant that Kairi would have to keep Sora in her house until he woke up. Kairi blushed at the thought of having Sora in her house, and dragged him through the back porch door by his arms. Kairi wasn't exactly a body-builder and Sora wasn't Nicole Richie, so it took a while to get Sora into the house and onto the couch, but once he was on it Kairi's muscles ached. She rubbed her arms as she went to check Sora's pulse. He had one but as she looked at his chest she noticed that he wasn't breathing. That flower pot must've hit him harder than she thought. She was really angry now. She was going to make sure that that neighbor's house was going to be burned down while he's at the super market. However, that would have to wait because Sora wasn't breathing. Kairi could call 911 but they might take too long, and Sora could get in trouble for being out at midnight. So Kairi was going to do the next best thing. She was going to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Kairi took Sora's head and tilted it back opening his airway. She then made sure nothing was blocking it. Kairi blushed. Now she would have to put her lips to Sora's and breathe out in order to start up his lungs again. Although she wasn't technically kissing Sora, the thought of their lips touching made her turn beet red. So, she pinched Sora's nose, and closed her eyes. She closed in more, blushing as she did, and right before their lips brushed Kairi heard something.

"Kaiwi wha are you doin?" said a nasally-clogged voice.

Kairi opened her eyes to see Sora staring at her with wide eyes. Kairi's eyes widened and she let go of Sora's nose and backed away from Sora immediately. She blushed furiously.

"Kairi…were you just about to kiss me?"

"No! I was…I was trying to give you mouth-to-mouth because you were unconscious and I didn't think you were breathing."

"Oh…well thanks I guess."

They stayed silent for a few more moments with Kairi blushing madly at that embarrassing moment while Sora was there thinking about why he was in Kairi's house.

"Hey Kairi?"

"Yes, Sora?"

"What happened? Why am I INSIDE your house, and why does my head hurt? Did you hate my song?"

"No Sora! I loved your song. I think its one of the sweetest things anyone has done for me to go out of their way to do something for me."

"Oh…good! And hey you're my best friend! Why wouldn't I do that for you?"

Sora smiled one of his cheesy smiles that made Kairi melt inside. She just looked at him and smiled. He was so cute when he was goofing off.

"So, Kai…"

"Hmm?"

"If you loved my song…then why are I in your house and why does my head hurt?"

"Well Sora…even though I loved your song, the old neighbor that lives behind my house didn't appreciate you playing loud rock music in the middle of the night. So he hit you in the head with a flower pot, knocking you unconscious. I rushed to help you and brought you inside to watch you until you woke up. You didn't look like you breathing when I put you on the couch, so when you woke up I was in mid-mouth-to-mouth."

"Oh I see. Well Kairi…um…would you mind if I stayed here for the night?"

Kairi perked up and blushed. Why did Sora want to stay over?

"Because well, I got hit in the head pretty hard and I don't feel strong enough to go over to my house and climb into my bedroom window. I didn't exactly remember to put my house keys in my pocket."

"That's fine Sora. You can stay here. I'll get you a pillow and a blanket."

Kairi went upstairs to the utility closet to get Sora his pillow and blanket as Sora lay on the couch. He looked around Kairi's dimly lit home. It was quite beautiful, but then again Kairi's mom was an interior designer. Sora's house was nothing like this on the inside. They both had similar stuff in their homes but hey no one can make it work like a professional. Soon, Kairi came back with a pink pillow and blanket.

"Kairi…"

"What Sora?"

"These are pink…"

"So?"

"I'm a guy"

"Well I'm a girl and that's all we have, so unless you want to sleep on a hard armrest with a cold body you will take the pillow and blanket."

"I guess you're right Kai."

Sora grabbed the blanket as Kairi fluffed his pillow and placed it on the armrest of the couch.

"Does wittle Sowa want me to tuck him in?" Kairi cooed.

"Ha-ha very funny, grandma."

Kairi laughed and so did Sora. Sora then put the blanket over himself and Kairi ruffled his hair saying goodnight before going to change into her pajamas and going to bed. A few hours passed and neither Sora nor Kairi had gone to sleep. They were both so restless. Kairi wanted to make sure Sora was ok and Sora was still in pain so he couldn't fall asleep. They were both just under their blankets, staring at the ceiling. That was until Kairi decided to check up on Sora.

"Sora?"

Sora sat up.

"Yes Kairi?"

"I can't sleep."

"Neither can I."

Kairi sat on the couch next to Sora. And she looked at him. She noticed that he had taken off his shirt and was only wearing his uniform pants. Sora looked at Kairi and saw that she was wearing a purple T-shirt with purple pajama pants with hearts on them. She looked really cute in it, but of course Sora was a little too oblivious to notice.

"Do you want to watch a movie Sora?"

"Sure…what do you want to watch?"

"How about we watch my favorite movie?"

"You mean Titanic?"

"Mhmm"

"Yeah sure"

Kairi got up and put the movie in the DVD player and pressed play. She sat next to Sora and they watched the movie for a while. That was until their eyes started to get droopy. Sora's eyes were getting heavy from sheer boredom from the movie, and soon enough he was out cold. Kairi soon followed. However, because she didn't have proper back support when she fell asleep…she fell asleep on top of Sora.

Kairi was dreaming about her being Rose Bukater from the Titanic and she dreamed that Sora was her Jack, and she snuggled closer to him in the dream world, causing her to snuggle with him, and bury her face in his chest.

At the same time, Sora subconsciously put his arm around Kairi holding her lovingly while dreaming about who knows what. And right there, with Kairi on top of Sora head resting on his chest and his arm around her, they fell even deeper into sleep, not being disturbed for the rest of the night.


	3. Shotguns and Garage Bands

Sora was having a nice dream. He was in a meadow, lying in the emerald grass, the smell of nature infiltrating his nostrils and giving him peace. He looked to his left and there was Kairi with him. She had her hair all spread out across the ground and was asleep in Sora's arms. He smiled and was about to kiss her forehead…until a tree branch poked him, stirring him from his slumber and causing him to look straight at the tree branch.

The tree branch called a twelve-gauge.

"Get the hell up boy."

Sora was locked with fear, his eyes wide staring at shotgun barrels and his ears hearing the command of Kairi's rather unfriendly father. He rose from the couch as slowly as possible so as to not stir Kairi's slumber. Sora kept his hands up in the air and didn't look at the man directly in the eyes. He was a gruesome fellow; thinning dark red hair, a beer belly that only masked his strong muscular structure, and a glare that could slaughter all but the strongest of men. Sora did not even consider himself a man, let alone a strong one.

"Alright Mr. Osment…Do you want to tell me why the HELL you were all cuddled up to my baby girl?"

"Well you see sir..."

"SHUT UP!" yelled Mr. Panettiere as he poked the shotgun at Sora.

"Oh Christ"

"What's going on?" yawned a sleepy Kairi.

"Nothing pumpkin poo, Daddy is just making Mr. Osment here a little breakfast."

"A mouthful of shells"

"I told you to shut your mouth boy or I swear by all that is good in this world, you will rue the day you were born son. Give me push-ups!"

"Wha-?"

"Now!"

"DADDY!"

Sora dropped to the ground, he wasn't about to get shot by Kairi's insane dad. He started pumping his arms doing push-ups as fast as he could.

"Let's go boy I could do that with a chair on my back!"

"Daddy what are you doing to Sora?!"

"Did he touch you baby? Did he make you do inappropriate things?!"

"What?! No!"

"I'll freaking kill him!!"

"OH GOD!" cried Sora pumping push-ups even faster.

"What is going on here?!" yelled a voice from up the stairs.

Standing there with the most deadly stare and most unattractive morning look on the planet Earth was Mrs. Panettiere. She was in a yellow robe and matching slippers but there was no fiercer beast on the planet than at this moment…at least for Mr. Panettiere.

"What are you doing?!"

"Honey bun I was just straightening out this young man"

"Don't you honey bun me! You caused a scene, scared the living daylights out of this poor young man, and worst of all, you woke me up on my day off. Now if you don't want to be sleeping on the couch, I will build a dog house for you because you have pissed me off! Go upstairs and put that gun away!"

Mr. Panettiere put the safety back on the shotgun and went upstairs with his head hung low. Sora was still doing push-ups afraid of what was going to happen. Mrs. Panettiere outstretched her hand to him and helped him to get up.

"I am so sorry about that Sora darling. Mr. Panettiere is a bit on the short fuse, especially when it comes to Kairi. Do you want some breakfast?"

"Uh.." Sora looked at Kairi and back at her mother. "I guess so…" Sora looked at the clock. It was 7:00 AM.

"HOLY CRUD ITS SEVEN! Kairi we are going to be late for school!"

"Oh my gosh that's right! I need to change! We had been oversleeping!"

Kairi's eyes opened wide. She just realized she slept the whole night with Sora. She looked down at her bare-pink painted toes.

"Right! Gotta jet! I'll see you at school Kairi!" said Sora as he picked up his guitar and amplifier on his way out.

"What a charming young boy" said Kairi's mother.

"Yeah…if only he would notice me"

The rest of the day was normal as usual. Sora saw Kairi and saw all his friends. School went by, that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the band's first practice. They were all to get together at Sora's house and determine what they wanted to play for the Battle of the Bands on Friday and then rehearse it until it was part of their daily routine.

"Jesus Tidus can your drum set get any bigger?" said Hayner

Tidus looked at the pieces of percussion instruments that were sprawled all over Sora's garage.

"I'm not sure…want to go to Guitar Center and find out?!"

"NO!" yelled Roxas.

Sora chuckled as he tuned his guitar and Riku was trying to put a scarf on his microphone.

"Hey Riku, I think that's out of season. Maybe even out of this century!" mocked Hayner playfully.

Without even looking back Riku replied, "How would you know? You dress like you just came back from 'Nam, great wardrobe Joe Country and the Fish."

"OH!!" exclaimed the rest of the band. Hayner left his mouth wide open and went to go check his guitar was in tune.

And there it was…they were ready to start. Riku had his scarf on his microphone and it was working perfectly. Roxas had his Fender Precision Bass with brand new strings all ready to rock the bass clef. Sora got his Fender Stratocaster to sling over his shoulder. Hayner had his Gibson Les Paul, custom finished with a worn green color, and Tidus had his drumsticks and enthusiastically beat the snare drum to signal the group to start. They proceeded to rock out!

Until Riku didn't know what to sing because everyone was playing a different song!

"Hold up hold up! This isn't working out. Sora you're playing Welcome to the Jungle, Roxas you're playing Readymade, Hayner you're playing The Immigrant Song, and Tidus who KNOWS what you're doing. If we are going to win this thing we need a set list and to be in unison. Any ideas?"

"I got nothing." Said Hayner.

"I just drum" Said Tidus.

"I play bass" Said Roxas.

Riku sighed heavily and looked over yonder to Sora who was looking Riku straight in the eye.

"Well? Aren't you going to make an excuse, Sora?"

"Well…I kinda know what to play."

Riku and the rest of Keychained listened in to Sora's suggestions. The garage door closed and all that could be heard throughout the block was the garbled rock music of a few stardazed youths.

School went by as usual, becoming progressively more slack than the day before. It was Thursday afternoon and Sora was with Kairi once again in their little garden.

"So, Sora how goes the whole band thing?" Said Kairi with the cutest smile she could muster.

Sora sipped on his can of juice. "It's going pretty well. I don't know if we will win the battle but I mean it is just a school event. Nothing big."

"You will do great Sora, you're the best guitar player I know."

"Kairi, exactly how many guitar players do you know besides me and Hayner?"

"Well I know-" Kairi stopped and began to contemplate how many she actually did know. "I don't know any others but you and Hayner, but I don't care I still think you're the best!"

"Thanks, Kairi. It really means a lot to me."

"I'll even sweeten the deal" said Kairi as she put her outstretched index finger in the air, "I'll make myself a T-shirt before I go to the party tomorrow with your band logo!"

"Awesome! You're like our first fan! But uh…"

"What is it?"

"We don't have a logo…"

"What?! What kind of band doesn't have a logo? It represents you and your group."

"We were too busy practicing to figure one out! Besides you know that none of us can draw!"

"I'll make one for you guys. I'm not the best artist but at least I pull off a B in my art class."

"You would do that for us Kairi?"

"I would do it for you…"

"Alright what are best friends for!"

"Oh…right. Yeah best friends."

_RRRRRIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG_

"There's the bell" sighed Kairi. "We should be going."

"Right! Remember to show up tomorrow at school Kairi, only kids who went to school on the last day get to go to the party!"

"I know! Bye Sora!"

"See ya!"

As Sora ran off into the distance to go to his class, Kairi walked to her art class. It was there that she attempted multiple drafts for the band's logo. The dismissal bell rang and Kairi yet did not give up. She wasn't the best artist but by all means she was going to make the logo the best she could.

"This is for you, Sora. I hope you like it."

Kairi took her final finished drawing and went to her mother to ask for a ride to the custom apparel store in the mall, with one last longing gaze at the picture of Sora and his guitar that she kept close to her bed and her heart.


	4. Sora, Start the Revolution!

(I own no copyrighted material in this story.)

Friday evening…the moment of truth. Sora was in his bedroom rummaging through his closet to find something to wear. He had to find something that said "I rock" but didn't say "I'm a freak". He needed to make a good impression, he wanted to win this battle of the bands. Sure it didn't really mean anything, it was more of a friendly competition with a trophy at the end, but Sora wanted to win. He didn't want anything more in his entire life than to be admired as he played his guitar on stage in front of screaming fans. Sora began to fantasize.

_The girls were screaming, blowing kisses at him as he just finished his guitar solo. Sora gave the devil's horns when he struck that last note and everyone cheered. He smiled. Nothing was better than this moment right here on this stage in front of millions of people. He had done it, he had lived his dream. _

_"Thank you everyone for coming to my concert! I hoped you liked it and I want you all to drive home safely! ROCK ON!!!"_

_The crowd cheered once again as Sora gave a final bow and headed off stage. There waiting for him was his beloved girlfriend. Naminé Snow. The ultra-pop star of the decade and the most beautiful girl he could even fathom. She twirled her hair with her finger and puckered her lips flirtatiously. Sora took her entire body in his arms and kissed her in a dipping fashion. He completed the kiss as he ascended back and Naminé lead him outside to the limo. Thousands of screaming fans were asking for autographs and Sora happily obliged as Naminé pulled him to the limo. Once they were in, Naminé looked at him hungrily as she closed the tinted window between their compartment and the driver as she unbuttoned his shirt…_

Sora warped back to reality as his mother walked into his room.

"Sora the dance is in half an hour why aren't you dressed yet?"

"I'm nervous Mom."

Mrs. Osment was taken aback. "Nervous? Son when have you ever been nervous about playing the guitar?"

"It's not that Mom it's just that…well this is the first time I'm playing with a band in front of the whole school, and I mean its not like I am going to graduate and I won't have to deal with those kids again if I mess up."

"Sora honey, they are all going to love you. You practice with that guitar day and night. On top of which, I was ready to kill you boys you were making so much noise! But, as you practiced more I found myself actually liking what you were playing. Your band is going to do spectacularly."

"Thanks Mom...that really helps."

"Anytime sweetie, your father and I love you very much. Go out there and rock and roll. Oh and before you go Kairi said to meet her backstage at least 15 minutes before the start of the dance. So you better get going mister you don't want to keep such a lovely young lady for a date waiting."

"Mom she isn't my date. She's just my best friend. She was designing our band logo."

"Oh okay my mistake son…but you know she could turn into something more if you finally let go of that Ms. Snow person."

"Whatever mom, I'll be right out get the car ready"

Mrs. Osment exited the room as Sora finally picked his outfit. He wore a black T-shirt that said "I sold my soul to Rock and Roll!" paired with a matching black vest and faded blue jeans. He put on his favorite pair of black converse and decided to put on his pinstripe gangster hat and wear fingerless black gloves. He was ready to melt some faces.

Sora exited the house and locked the door behind him as he got into his mom's mini-van.

"Sora don't you look like a regular rock star?"

"Stop teasing me Mom!"

"Haha alright son, I'll get you to that party ASAP."

Mrs. Osment drove quickly but safely and Sora arrived at the scene only a minute or so late. He kissed his mother goodbye and got his guitar out from the trunk. When Sora's mother drove away, he heard a loud whistle. There was Riku dressed in skinny brown pants with a loose fitting violet dress shirt that was a bit open and boots.

"Yo lead guitarist, get your ass in here! We need to get our setup ready!"

"Aye aye cap'n!" Said Sora as he grinned widely and ran up the stairs into the banquet hall where the party was being held.

Riku led Sora backstage where the rest of Keychained were. Rolling his drums into place was Tidus dressed in a yellow polo with navy shorts and yellow Nikes. Sitting on an amplifier tuning his bass was Roxas dressed in light tan cargo pants and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, complete with thin black neck tie and rings galore on his fingers. Finally there was Hayner discussing something with a member of the stage crew wearing a brown T-shirt covered by an open forest green button up short-sleeve shirt and dark blue carpenter jeans. They looked good. Some hearts were going to be broken tonight that was for sure.

"Alright everyone, the slacker is finally here!" exclaimed Riku to the band"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" replied Sora in objection.

"It means you should have been here earlier we could have used this time to rehearse!" said Hayner from behind Sora.

"Guys that doesn't matter now. What matters is that we are together" proudly smiled Tidus.

"Yeah! We are about to tear off some heads and break some hearts!" said Roxas as he got his fellow band members into a big group hug.

"Aw how cute! But a band is nothing without its fans! And I'm your first and truest one!" said a feminine voice from the door.

They all turned to see one very good looking Kairi with some boxes in her arm. She was wearing what looked to be two T-shirts complete with pink lo-top converse and a black jean skirt. She had wristbands and bracelets to accessorize and a pair of guitar shaped earrings. The boys smiled and smirked at how good their number one fan was looking and she blushed at the looks she was getting.

"Alright boys lets stay on target! Just like a band is nothing without their fans, a band is very little without an image! Tidus!"

"Yes?"

"Show me your bass drum please?"

"Yeah it's right over here."

Kairi walked over to the drum set up and bent down to face the large bass drum. She got a round box out from under her arm to reveal a plain white disk. She carefully plastered it onto the bass drum.

"Kairi!! What are you doing to my bass drum?"

"A band says a lot with its image Tidus and what better image than your very own logo!"

Kairi peeled back the white paper of the disk to reveal the band's new logo expertly stuck onto the bass drum. The band members widened their eyes as they saw the gorgeous piece of artwork that would represent them as a band from here on out. The logo was a black heart in the middle with 5 silver key chains hanging from it. From left to right there was the symbol of Tidus's birthplace, (A/N Zanarkand's symbol), a Struggle bat, what looked to be a dark heart with an X over it (A/N Heartless symbol), a crown-shaped symbol, and finally a shuriken-like symbol with a half heart at the bottom (A/N Nobody symbol). At the top along the hearts curves in sharp angular letters was the band's name. The boys couldn't believe their eyes. This was the perfect logo.

"Kai! How long did it take you to make this?!" said Sora.

"A long time and many tries. I finally got it perfect and I got it made for a good price. Do you guys like it?"

"We love it!" said the whole band.

Kairi giggled and smiled at Sora in particular. She tilted her head and looked at him with those eyes that said "I did this for you". Unfortunately for Kairi, Sora was too consumed with the logo to even notice her longing looks.

The rest of the band kept smiling at the logo until Riku noticed Kairi's double T-shirts and wondered why that was.

"Kairi, why are you wearing two T-shirts? I mean it can get chilly in there but its summer time already."

"Oh! That's because…" Kairi reached for the bottom of her first T-shirt and removed it to reveal the band's logo on the undershirt!

"Woah! You made a custom T-shirt too!" exclaimed Roxas.

"Mhm. I am going to be your biggest fan and your walking billboard. Check out the back side!"

Kairi turned around revealing a bulleted list of the band member names, along with their respective logos and descriptions.

_Tidus: The Blitzing Percussionist_

_Hayner: The Rhythmic Champion_

_Riku: The Heartbreaking Serenade_

_Sora: The King of Solos_

_Roxas: The Steady Somebody_

"That's so wicked cool! Kairi I am so getting you a sea-salt ice cream after the party!" proudly cried Hayner.

"You might as well buy me the whole shop after you see what's in the other boxes"

The band peered closely as Kairi slowly opened the rest of her boxes. Inside were Kairi's shirts! And not only that but keychains, buttons, and baseball caps! All the boxes were loaded with Keychained paraphernalia!

"Kairi you did all this for us?! How much did this cost you?"

"That's not important. I made an investment in you guys. We will split the sales 50/50. Then you guys can decide what to do with it amongst yourselves."

"Geez, what a con artist" said Hayner playfully as he stuck his tongue out at Kairi.

Kairi laughed and stuck her tongue right back out.

"I can't wait for you guys to start! I'll be in the audience cheering all the way."

The band cheered and went back to their duties, except for Sora whom Kairi had restrained to talk to.

"Sora…"

"Yeah Kai?"

"Um well…do you like all this stuff?"

"Like it? I love it Kairi! It's the best thing that anyone has ever done for me! Thank you!"

Sora hugged his best friend. Kairi was taken slightly aback but soon melted into his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and took a big whiff of his scent. He didn't smell like anything in particular, just kind of smelled clean, but it was like being in a meadow of flowers for Kairi. She had become hypersensitive of everything about him. His clothes were soft and she could feel the smooth skin of his neck against her head. Her paradise vacation was cut all too short by Sora pulling away from the hug. She looked down at her feet with a longing expression on her face.

'I wish you would love me too…no stop Kairi, you have to stay strong for his sake and yours. So that one day you can love each other forever.' Thought Kairi.

She looked back up on him with a big grin on her face and Sora returned the gesture, completely clueless to the thoughts going through Kairi's mind. After a bit of silence, Kairi spoke up once again.

"Sora…can you…maybe…"

"What is it Kai?"

"Could you…save the last dance for me? At the very least?"

Sora scratched his head clearly confused as to the reason for this request. Surely Kairi had a lot of other boys who found her stunning and wanted to dance with her, why save the very last and most important dance of the evening for Sora?

'Oh well, can't hurt to say yes, we are best friends after all. I do owe her too for making all this cool stuff. Yeah I'll dance with her!'

"Sure Kairi, I'll dance with you. It'll be fun!"

Kairi lit up and smiled with an unrestrained joy.

"Awesome Sora! I can't wait. Look for me in the audience ok? I'll be cheering you on the loudest I promise!"

"I'll look for you Kairi! I'll give you a thumbs-up to let you know I saw you. I promise!"

Kairi smiled and waved as she exited the back stage to go help her mother to set up the booth at the entrance that would sell all the Keychained merchandise. It was going to be an awesome memorable night.

Sora waved until Kairi was out of sight. He turned around to nearly bump into Roxas's face.

"She likes you."

"What?"

"Sora, you must be a really big idiot."

"Hey! That's not funny!"

"Maybe not but this is" said Riku as he flicked Sora's forehead while he passed by.

"Ow!" yelled Sora as he rubbed his forehead. He began to ponder what Roxas meant.

'Kairi liking me? No way. We've been best friends for so long. Besides there are plenty of other great guys for Kairi to date and she has. Why me? Yeah no, Roxas is just teasing me like he always does when I hang out with Kairi. Yeah that has to be it! But, I'm sure the stage would look awesome if flames came out from it…'

"SORA!" yelled Roxas.

"Eh what?"

"Get your ass over here man, we need to hear the briefing from the stage director!"

"Oh right! Coming!"

Sora trotted to his bandmates and noticed several other musicians in a semicircle around the stage director, Ms. Gainsborough.

'Those must be the other bands' thought Sora.

"Alright young ones, I am sure you have heard all this before the last time you all were here at this dance but I'll reiterate them just in case you all forgot. Each band will play 3 songs that will be scored by our judges and by the cheers of the audience. The champion of this friendly competition will be announced at the conclusion of the party. Everyone understand?"

Every musician around Ms. Gainsborough nodded their heads in understanding. She continued.

"The line up will be as follows. First up is Silver Bullet. Second is Refreshing Wind. Third is Ocarina. Fourth is Banshee Queen and last but not least is Keychained to close our competition. You are all dismissed. Silver Bullet you are up in ten minutes. Please move your equipment to the stage."

The members of Silver Bullet proceeded to the stage as everyone else regressed to their spots. The members of Keychained were very anxious. They were the last ones, the grand finale. They had to win it.

"Man I can't believe they put us last! The nerves are going to eat away at my guts before I even play!" complained Hayner.

"Chill out. They saved the best for last, everyone else is just the opening act. Stay cool and stay focused. We are here to win and have fun" stated Riku.

The rest of the band nodded in agreement and tended to their instruments trying to keep away the pre-show jitters. They heard the beginning riffs of Silver Bullet as the students cheered for them. The band members of Keychained rolled their shoulders and cracked their necks in preparation.

Banshee Queen finished its third song and came back feeling pumped and making faces at the members of Keychained. The lead guitarist, Seifer gave the band the finger, making everyone very angry. Roxas nearly went to go tackle Seifer before Riku stopped him.

"Don't Roxas. Come on we are better than that. We will show him and his band who the real rock stars are in this school."

Roxas nodded and the band moved their equipment to the stage. The announcer began to speak as they got ready.

"Here we have our final act of the night before we proceed to judge the victor. They are a fairly new band, only started a week ago, but their sound is like they have been together for years. Please put your hands together for Keychained!"

The crowd roared for the new band. Sora looked out into the crowd to see if he could find Kairi. He was having no luck and almost gave up before Roxas turned Sora's head towards a jumping and squealing redhead in the crowd with the band's T-shirt. Sora gave the signal; a thumbs-up. Kairi returned it with both thumbs up and yelled as hard as she could to support her new favorite band.

Riku got the microphone and began testing everything out as his fellow band members did the same.

"Hello Destiny Islands High School!"

The crowd erupted into thunderous cheers.

"Are you ready to rock and roll? Because now your listening to Keychained!"

The crowd cheered yet again.

"We got Tidus on the drums, Hayner on rhythm guitar, Roxas on the bass, Sora on lead guitar, and me…Riku on the microphone. And ladies?"

The girls in the crowd squealed at Riku's suave voice.

"Don't we look great?"

They went into fits of delight and fainted in approval of their looks.

"And fellas?"

Deeper voices were heard in response.

"Do you want to know why the ladies cheer?"

They yelled variations of the word "Yes!"

"Well…it's because every girl's crazy 'bout a SHARP DRESSED MAN!"

Sora played the riff to the song as Tidus, Roxas and Hayner joined in simultaneously with his smooth guitar melody. The entire building was shaking with the sound of the music and the sound of the crowd. After a while, Riku began to sing. (A/N this is Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top, I do not own the song, and I personally find it helpful to read the song part then play the song afterwards to envision the whole moment in its entirety, very useful imagery trick for song fictions).

"_Clean shirt, new shoes  
And I don't know where I am goin to.  
Silk suit, black tie,  
I don't need a reason why.  
They come runnin' just as fast as they can  
Coz every girl crazy bout a sharp dressed man.  
_Sora was playing that guitar like he was born to do it. He felt sharp and well dressed just playing this song even though he most definitely was. He found Kairi once again in the audience and smiled. She was cheering the hardest out of everyone there. What a loyal friend she was. Roxas was playing his smooth bass line with a confident smirk on his face, as Tidus was head banging to his drum beat. Hayner was keeping the harmony to make the sound even richer, staying next to Roxas on the right side of the stage (A/N facing the audience). Sora felt even more alive and picked up his energy, head banging and doing little tricks while playing.  
_Gold watch, diamond ring,  
I ain't missing a single thing.  
And cufflinks, stick pin,  
When I step out I'm gonna do you in.  
They come runnin just as fast as they can  
Coz every girl crazy bout a sharp dressed man.  
_  
_Top coat, top hat,  
I don't worry coz my wallets fat.  
Black shades, white gloves,  
Lookin sharp and lookin for love.  
They come runnin just as fast as they can  
Coz every girl crazy bout a sharp dressed man!"_

The song soon came to a close and the crowd roared. The girls squeals were heard over anything else as Riku winked and Roxas blew a kiss. Sora gave dual devil's horns as Hayner applauded and Tidus thrust his fisted drumsticks in the air. Riku spoke once again.

"Now that song was great wasn't it? But, the girls and guys aren't dancing? What's wrong? Are we in CHURCH? This is a party! You all got to cut loose!"

Tidus started up the drums as the rest of the band clapped to the rhythm. Soon after Roxas got his bass groove on and the guys were asking girls to dance. Sora looked out into the audience and spotted Kairi once again. A guy was asking her to dance. Sora felt a little sad for some reason, but he shook off the notion and gave Kairi a thumbs-up when she looked at him. He saw Kairi nod and the boy and she began to dance to the guitar riff that Hayner and Sora were laying down. (A/N Footloose by Kenny Loggins).

_I been working so hard  
Keep punching my card  
Eight hours, for what?  
Oh, tell me what I got  
I get this feeling  
That times just holding me down  
Ill hit the ceiling  
Or else Ill tear up this town  
Tonight I got to cut  
Loose, footloose  
Kick off your sunday shoes  
Please, Selphie  
Pull me off of my knees  
Wakka, get backa  
C'mon before we cracka  
Lose your blues  
Everybody cut footloose  
You're playing so cool  
Obeying every rule  
Dig way down in your heart  
You're yearning, burning for some  
Somebody to tell you  
That life ain't passing you by  
I'm trying to tell you  
It will if you don't even try  
You can fly if you'd only cut  
Loose, footloose  
Kick off your sunday shoes  
Oowhee, Kairi!_

She looked at Riku and jumped up and yelled in approval  
_Shake it, shake it for me  
Whoa, Lulu  
C'mon, c'mon let's go  
Lose your blues  
Everybody cut footloose  
First - we got to turn you around  
Second - you put your feet on the ground  
Third - now take a hold of your soul  
Four - whooooooooa, Im turning it  
Loose, footloose_

_Kick off your Sunday shoes  
Please, Selphie  
Pull me off of my knees  
Wakka, get backa  
C'mon before we cracka  
Lose your blues_

_Everybody cut footloose!_

The audience kept on dancing even though Keychained had stopped playing. That tune was just that good! There was only one more song to do and the members of Keychained were going to make it count. They were going to make it a tad bit slower…and make it a love song.

"I wrote this song to go out to all the boys and girls here that are still looking for their one and only! Keep strong everybody, it will happen one day!" said Roxas into the microphone at, seemingly the entire crowd, although Kairi knew deep in her heart that Roxas was speaking to her, because of her unrequited love for Sora.

Riku started out a capella and soon after was joined by his fellow band members into a song that touched Kairi's heart because it was so true to her at that moment. She began to dance with the unknown boy as the song continued, but every moment she wished she was dancing with Sora. (A/N Gotta Be Somebody by Nickelback).

_This time I wonder what it feels like  
To find the one in this life  
The one we all dream of  
But dreams just aren't enough  
So I'll be waiting for the real thing.  
I'll know it by the feeling.  
The moment when we're meeting  
will play out like a scene straight off the silver screen  
So I'll be holdin' my own breath  
Right up to the end  
Until that moment when  
I find the one that I'll spend forever with  
`Cause nobody wants to be the last one there.  
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares.  
Someone to love with my life in their hands.  
There's gotta be somebody for me like that.  
`Cause nobody wants to do it on their own  
And everyone wants to know they're not alone.  
There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere.  
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.  
Tonight, out on the street out in the moonlight  
And dammit this feels too right  
It's just like Déjà Vu  
Me standin' here with you  
So I'll be holdin`my own breath  
Could this be the end?  
Is it that moment when  
I find the one that I'll spend forever with?  
'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there  
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares.  
Someone to love with my life in their hands.  
There's gotta be somebody for me like that.  
`Cause nobody wants to do it on their own  
And everyone wants to know they're not alone.  
There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere  
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.  
You can't give up!  
Lookin´ for that diamond in the rough  
you never know but when it shows up_

_Make sure you're holdin` on  
'Cause it could be the one, the one you're waiting on  
'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there.  
And everyone wants to feel like someone cares.  
Someone to love with my life in their hands.  
There has gotta be somebody for me  
Ohhhhhh.  
Nobody wants to do it on their own  
And everyone wants to know they're not alone.  
Is there somebody else that feels the same somewhere?  
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.  
Nobody wants to be the last one there  
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares.  
Is there somebody else that feels the same somewhere?  
There has gotta be somebody for me out there.__  
_

The song ended and everyone applauded at the brilliant performance. Sora and the others sighed in contentment and fulfillment. They started to walk off the stage. They had done their part in the battle of the bands. Or so they thought until they heard cries of "Encore! Encore! Encore!" from the screaming crowd behind them. They all looked back onto the crowd and widened their eyes at how many people were cheering for an encore performance. Riku called them into a huddle immediately.

"Riku what do we do?!" cried a worried Tidus.

"Yeah, we don't know any other songs! We have nothing to play! We should just walk off stage!" reasoned Hayner.

"And let down all those fans? And Kairi? After all that hard work she did for us? No way we have to play something! Something we all know!" replied Roxas.

"Roxas, we don't have any other songs. We just have that other one that I helped you write" Said Sora.

"Yeah and you said it was too high octane for us to perform at this show remember?" said Hayner.

"I guess you're- Riku?"

Riku got up to his microphone without saying a single word. He lifted his hand and motioned for his band mates to follow. They nervously went back to their respective spots. Sora looked around the whole audience frantically looking for Kairi. He was like a deer caught in the headlights, nervous, scared and unsure of what to do.

"Sora!" Riku suddenly spoke out into the microphone.

Sora looked at his friend questionably. Riku smirked.

"START THE REVOLUTION!"

Sora immediately knew what Riku meant. They were going to play the unintended song. Sora broke out the riff followed by Tidus, Hayner and Roxas. The high energy of the whole next song completely blew the minds off the audience and gave them a show to truly remember. (A/N Audrey, Start the Revolution By Anberlin).

_Maybe tonight we'll get back together  
Sound the alarms and break all the levers  
These streets are ours  
Our anthem rings  
You'd know the truth  
if these walls could sing  
Amateur youth sling down the signs  
Gather the masses, friends of mine  
I've got your back if you got my hand  
This isn't over, it just began_

If this isn't love (If this isn't love)  
This is the closest I've ever been  
Do you think we have a chance tonight?  
As streetlights sing on Sora's song

If this isn't love (If this isn't love)  
This is the closest I've ever been  
Do you think we have a chance tonight?  
As streetlights sing on Sora's song.

Remind your parents we're tomorrow  
Lead with morals and we'll follow  
When they wake up they'll see  
that youth fades  
and glory days deceive

What are you waiting for? Let's move on this  
Time is of essence, like your kiss  
So say you're in with cards down  
And guns drawn, this is it

If this isn't love (If this isn't love)  
This is the closest I've ever been.  
Do you think we have a chance tonight?  
As streetlights sing on Sora's song.

If this isn't love (If this isn't love)  
This is the closest I've ever been.  
Do you think we have a chance tonight?  
As streetlights sing on Sora's song.

And now it stops at this  
We could take it all  
if only we would risk  
You can be what you can conceive  
Red letters kill your disbelief

We all make mistakes sometimes  
We all have failed where we stand tonight  
Look past, learn, and move on  
We're all here, you're not the only one

If this isn't love (If this isn't love)  
This is the closest I've ever been.  
Do you think we have a chance tonight?  
As streetlights, sing on Sora's song.

The encore was a complete success. The audience was roaring like never before and louder than any other band that played that night! It was a sure thing! Keychained was going to win the battle of the bands!

"Thank you Destiny Islands High School! Good Night and catch us down on the dance floor!" announced Riku.

The band exited the stage with their equipment and managed to put it all away into Riku's Volkswagen Mini-Bus. They shared stories of how they felt on stage and how awesome they played. They were all smiles and giggles…until the reentered the party.

They were swarmed by adoring fans! Wanting them to autograph T-shirts, baseball caps and human bodies! They had become a booming success within the hour. Sora looked above the crowd of squealing girls and rowdy boys to find Kairi and her mother frantically taking the money for all the Keychained merchandise they were selling. She gave Sora a thumbs-up and he returned the gesture with the biggest grin he has had in years. He was living the dream, even if it was just on a very local scale.

Unfortunately Kairi had to frown when Sora was being dragged away by at least six girls at a time to dance with them as the dance's formal DJ was just starting his routine for the rest of the night. It was ok though, Sora had promised and he never broke a promise before. The dance went on pretty uneventfully after the battle of the bands. Kairi just waited by her now empty stand with her mother whom was counting money. That was, until Roxas came up to her with his hand out.

"May I have this dance?"

"Huh?"

"Would I have the honor of dancing with a very lovely young lady such as yourself?"

Kairi giggled and blushed a little, but she tried to fight it back. Sure Roxas looked a lot like Sora, but he wasn't and could never be him. They were too different and she was in love with Sora Osment and Sora Osment alone. But, what is one dance going to hurt?

"You may have the honor, Sir Roxas of Bassland" chuckled Kairi.

Kairi gave her hand to Roxas as her mother waved her off. They went to the dance floor to dance to a rather slow song that neither Kairi nor Roxas recognized. It didn't matter though, they were content with just dancing to whatever tune struck their fancy. Kairi didn't rest her head on Roxas chest or shoulder but she did stretch her arms and look into his eyes while she conversed with him.

"You did awesome Roxas."

"Thanks Kairi, you were an awesome best fan."

"Now you're just making fun of me."

"No, really I'm not. Just man were you squealing and screaming. Were we really that good?"

"Definetely. You were putting out those bass grooves to perfectly match everyone else. Tidus was banging on those drums and Hayner was sure keeping that harmony. Everyone adored Riku's voice and who didn't love Sora's guitar melodies?" She said the last part rather quietly, as if she was troubled.

"I know you like Sora a lot Kairi. Just give him time, he is a little clueless. That and he still thinks he has a shot with Naminé Snow, like that's gonna happen. He will come to his senses soon enough and see just what a ravishing and spectacular girl you really are."

Kairi smiled and blushed a tiny itty bit.

"Thank you Roxas, you made me feel a whole lot better. You're right he has to see me sometime. You're sweet beyond compare."

She leaned up to kiss his cheek to which Roxas was absolutely delighted with. He smiled and looked off to the distance as Kairi returned to her original position. He spotted Sora finally without any girl to dance with.

"Kairi, Sora is all alone now you can get that dance."

"Oh you're right! Thanks Roxas you're the best!"

Kairi ran off to quickly snatch Sora before he was taken away yet again. Roxas watched her go with a bit of longing in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by the surprise he was shocked with when a dozen girls got to him asking him to dance.

Sora saw Roxas nearly get mugged and then laid his eyes on Kairi. She was smiling and trotting over to him.

"Remember your promise Sora?" she said.

"Of course! What kind of best friend would I be? I had to beat off those girls with my guitar just to keep this promise y'know!"

Kairi giggled and put her hands around Sora's neck as he rested his on her waist. They moved slowly to the beat of the unknown song and Kairi almost immediately put her head on Sora's shoulder. She once again took in his scent and the feel of his body. He was everything to her and, thanks to Roxas's words, soon enough she would be everything to him. It was all just a matter of time. Kairi complimented Sora on his playing that night and afterwards they said nothing just enjoying the silence with each other. The song came to its conclusion as Ms. Gainsborough came to the microphone.

"Attention everyone! The judges have come to a verdict! The winner of this year's battle of the bands is…"

The entire student body held their breath. Every band member that participated hoped it was them. Sora had to close his eyes.

"Banshee Queen"

Sora and the rest of Keychained as well as a good number of the audience dropped their jaws as the members of Banshee Queen accepted their trophy. They just couldn't believe it. Banshee Queen was good true but it wasn't nearly as good as the performance by Keychained. Keychained got an encore! How was it possible? Sora and the band went to Ms. Gainsborough to ask for an explanation.

"I'm sorry boys. We were going to make you the victors but Seifer brought up a point we almost overlooked. You guys were great but…you played FOUR songs. Every band was only supposed to play three. Keychained was disqualified."

The band was about to lay down their protests, until they realized how futile they would have been. They hung their heads in shame and began to walk out of their building as Ms. Gainsborough announced that the dance was over. Kairi ran up to the band and hugged each and every one of them, although staying by Sora's side for the longest. Nothing could change the way they felt now. They thought they played such a great show and they didn't win. The whole night was ruined. Well…almost ruined.

"Excuse me, are you the members of Keychained?" said a mysterious pleasantly high-pitched voice.

"Yeah? Who wants to know?" replied Riku.

"I do."

Out came a man in a business suit with bright flaming red hair. He had beautiful green eyes that complimented his burning locks and a smile to die for, but it didn't impress anyone.

"What do you want with us Mister?" asked Tidus.

"Oh my dear rock stars; it is not what you can do for me. It's what I can do for you."

"And what exactly would that be?" asked Sora keeping Kairi behind him protectively.

"That would be me, making you into the next big thing. Because my little music makers, I am Axel...I am from Organization Records and I want to sign you to our label."


End file.
